Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
On the bright side, my nausea continued calming down. I’d heard that could happen in the second trimester. After feeling like death-warmed-over all first trimester, though, I hadn’t dared hope. But apparently, I had turned the corner… and suddenly I could eat again.
And I wanted to eat everything. Meat. Cheese. Pastries. It was like that one slice of pizza in the piazza that day had opened up a monster inside me. An ever hungry, never satisfied monster.
The doctor told me to keep an eye on it when I’d let them know I’d actually lost weight in the first month of pregnancy. Well, they were gonna be delighted on my next visit, because I was definitely making up for it now.
Better late than never, Janus kept remarking, while smacking my ever-more-voluptuous ass. And I’d had plenty to begin with.
I’m glad at least they were appreciating the changes that were beginning to be noticeable in my body. I just kept knocking into things, my new proportions throwing off my balance. Because, yeah, I was suddenly… uh… top-heavy.
My boobs.
I’m talking about my boobs.
They’d gotten noticeably bigger… and well, bouncier. Milo liked to lie in bed and just poke them to watch them jiggle. He’d get this big ol’ grin on his face like his life-long dreams were finally coming true.
I could only roll my eyes.
My bras barely fit and they were double Ds to begin with. I didn’t even know what size comes after that? Triple D? G? Maybe I’d just abandon bras altogether and start wearing stretchy fabric bands I’d seen online—they weren’t especially attractive but looked comfy as hell. And comfy was my new favorite word.
The last two weeks we’d been ordering in—delicious meal after delicious meal—because Trapdoor, Leander’s latest movie, had premiered here in Italy. It had turned into a global blockbuster, and the Italians were falling just as hard for Leander’s rising star.
Hence, we were having a harder time getting around the city than when we first arrived. It wasn’t like back in New York yet, but the twins were getting recognized more and more.
Tonight, though, tonight they said they had a surprise and Milo promised I didn’t need to worry, they’d taken care of everything. We were riding in the car towards a mystery destination. They’d even made me wear a blindfold so I couldn’t see where they were taking me—as if I’d have any idea where we were going anyway!
Leander and Janus had finished their training and tomorrow shooting started on the actual movie. I thought they might want to spend their last free night with the cast and crew, but Janus had looked at me like I was crazy.
To my surprise, Leander said he wanted to come with us too.
I wasn’t sure exactly why, but ever since the night he’d finally given in and slept with me again, he’d been different. Not quite so in-your-face-assholish.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say the tumble in the water had quenched his ego. It would take far more than a dip in some mucky canal water for that. And I doubted he’d changed his tune or his mind about me or the baby. I still saw the distrust in his eyes when he looked at me.
That didn’t stop him from rejoining our bed, though. And he didn’t pull away from my touch anymore, either. He was just as quick to reach for me as Janus or Milo these days.
So some part of him still wanted me, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I didn’t want to be wanted against someone’s will or better judgement. I deserved better.
But if I wasn’t quite sure how to deal with Leander or how I felt about him, things between me and Janus and me and Milo were solidifying. I was growing a firm foundation with them. Something that just might grow into… well, into a family.
I glowed at the word, caressing it in my mind. Me, who’d always had such a negative association with the word. But the guys were showing me that family, when it was people you chose—could actually feel like a home.
“Okay, keep your eyes shut,” Janus said, and I could hear the smile in his voice even though I couldn’t see him.
“Why?” I laughed. “You have a blindfold on me. I can’t see a thing.”
“Good,” Milo said. “That’s the point. We’re trying to surprise you.”
“You realize just getting out of the apartment is a great surprise. Now let me see! I want to look around. I never get to go anywhere!”
“I don’t know.” Janus’s voice was heavy with teasing. “Should we let her see where we are?”
Leander’s voice was less playful. “Well, the sun’s almost down, so if you want her to see anything you better take the damn eye mask off.”